Sickles, a Union general who served under Gen. George Meade during the Battle of Gettysburg, was standing in Lafayette Square when he shot Key, the son of Francis Scott Key, who penned The Star-Spangled Banner.

Sickles suspected Key was having inappropriate relations with his wife, and acted in passion.

Legend says Key fell against an iron fence in the park -- the same fence that was moved to Gettysburg years later.

Regardless of the legend, the fence was transplanted to Gettysburg, and is the same iron fence that surrounds Soldiers' National Cemetery.

Sickles was acquitted on the murder charges. His defense? Temporary insanity.

History.com and the Civil War Trust say the case marked the first successful use of the defense.

Pvt. Eli T. Green's grave

During the weeks that followed the Battle of Gettysburg, bodies of the war dead lay rotting on the battlefield. The citizens of Gettysburg called for the creation of a soldiers' cemetery to bury the Union men.

However, no consideration was given to burying the Confederate dead, according to R.E. Frampton's book, "Lincoln and the human interest stories of the Gettysburg National Cemetery."

But at least eight Confederate soldiers ended up buried alongside Union soldiers in Soldiers' National Cemetery, said Troy D. Harman, a park ranger and historian at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Pvt. Eli T. Green, of Virginia, is among them. He died in Gettysburg after the battle.

Harman said there are several theories about how the Confederate soldiers got mixed in with the Union dead.

Green, he said, is buried among the Pennsylvania troops. One of the Pennsylvania units was the Pennsylvania Volunteers.

"Volunteer could easily be construed for Virginia," Harman said. "That would be one possibility" of how Green was buried with the Pennsylvania veterans.

Other Confederate men buried in the cemetery could have had their identity mistaken because they took a Union soldier's discarded clothing, or the identification they had on -- typically limited to notes pinned on uniforms -- was washed away in the rains that fell on Gettysburg in the days after the battle, Harman said.

Soldiers' National Monument

Among the tallest landmarks in Soldiers' National Cemetery, Soldiers' National Monument is also the second-oldest monument on the Gettysburg battlefield, author R.E. Frampton wrote in his book.

Construction of the monument started in 1865, and it was dedicated in 1869, according to the National Park Service.

Statues on the monument represent war, history, plenty and peace, and the statue "Genius of Liberty," sits at the top, according to the National Park Service.

Many visitors believe the monument marks the spot where President Abraham Lincoln stood to deliver the Gettysburg Address, but the address was actually delivered about 50 yards away, in Evergreen Cemetery.

Pvt. Henry Gooden's grave

Pvt. Henry Gooden didn't fight at the Battle of Gettysburg, and he wasn't originally interred at Soldiers' National Cemetery.

But the cemetery did become his final resting place.

Buried among the Union troops, no signs or markers draw special attention to Gooden, and yet, his grave is unusual considering the capacity in which he served during the Civil War.

Gooden, a black soldier, served with the U.S. Colored Troops.

Gooden and Charles Parker are the two black soldiers buried in Soldiers' National Cemetery. Both of their graves indicate their service with the "U.S.C.T.," or the "U.S. Colored Troops.

Gooden's body was moved from Alms House cemetery in Gettysburg to the national cemetery in 1884. Parker's body was moved to the cemetery from Yellow House Cemetery in 1934, according to author and amateur historian Deb McCauslin.

Unknown soldiers' graves

More than 1,000 soldiers buried in Soldiers' National Cemetery were never identified.

R.E. Frampton wrote in his book that thousands of temporary graves were dug in the days and weeks that followed the Battle of Gettysburg.

"The efforts were often quickly and crudely done and soon faded in the elements," Frampton wrote.

Although efforts were made to identify as many bodies as possible, not all bodies could be named. Those men are buried in groups of unknown soldiers, in numbered graves, in Soldiers' National Cemetery.

Witness tree

A living witness of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address still stands in Soldiers' National Cemetery.

You can find it near the southwestern entrance of the cemetery, near the iron fence.

Although its age is unknown, Lt. Col. Bill Hewitt, retired Army, said there is proof the tree has been there for more than 150 years.

"When they were organizing the cemetery...there were not many trees there," Hewitt said. Hewitt, who works as a part-time park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park during the summer months, has crafted some items from the tree's fallen branches. He said all the witness trees are special for what they've seen.

The men who died on the battlefield, "their blood fed those trees," Hewitt said. Soldiers "may have leaned up against that tree"¦ or they may have gone back and rested against the tree at the end of the day. Each one (of the witness trees) saw great, great acts of courage during the war, and so they're special."

Site of the Gettysburg Address

Most of the greatest speakers in history weren't truly appreciated until after their death, said Troy D. Harman, historian and park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park.

That's the case with President Lincoln.

Although the Gettysburg Address is arguably the greatest speech in United States history, people at the time didn't realize it.

Hours after Lincoln gave his 2-minute oration, the platform he stood on was disassembled, Harman said. "There was no one there to say, 'Oh my god, we just heard the greatest speech in humankind.'"

When Lincoln was assassinated, Harman said, "then suddenly, all of these words were precious."

When the words became important, people wanted to find the place where Lincoln stood to deliver them.

Over time, using photographic evidence, historians have been able to closely mark the place where Lincoln likely stood.

It wasn't where the Soldiers' National Monument stands, and It's not marked today, but visitors to Soldiers' National Cemetery who walk to the other side of the fence, into Evergreen Cemetery, can get pretty close if they visit the grave of Virginia Wade.

Contact Brandie Kessler at 771-2035.

Road closures on Nov. 19

The following road closures will be in effect beginning 6 a.m. Tuesday for Dedication Day, according to the Gettysburg National Military Park:

--Taneytown Road from the access road to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center north to the intersection with Steinwehr Avenue;

--all of Sedgwick, United States, Hancock, Pleasonton and Hunt avenues.

A limited number of handicapped parking spaces will be available in the Soldiers' National Cemetery North parking lot. After parking or riding the shuttle, those with mobility impairments should use the cemetery entrance on Taneytown Road.
The roads are expected to re-open at 2 p.m.

Free parking will be provided at Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, and at numerous satellite parking areas, with free shuttles provided by the York Adams Transportation Authority.

Shuttles will run from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. When the visitor center lots are full, visitors will be directed to park in the lots at the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg. Temporary signs will be in place to direct vehicles to the overflow lots.